Spock Turned 80 on Saturday

Wikipedia: "Spock gave his Vulcan salute whenever greeting crew members, and it became a recognized symbol of the show identified with him. Nimoy created the sign himself from his childhood memories of the way kohanim (Jewish priests) held their hand when giving blessings. During an interview, he translated the Priestly Blessing which... accompanied the sign[17] and described it during a public lecture:[18]

May the Lord bless and keep you and may the Lord cause his countenance to shine upon you. May the Lord be gracious unto you and grant you peace.

Nimoy was asked to read these verses as part of his narration for Civilization IV." Nimoy turned 80 today.

***

GJ - This is your Icha-peek for the day, the last post. Sorry, Icha-widows. I could not resist.

Bruce Church on Using Government Funds To Create Seminary Sinecures

Bruce Church has left a new comment on your post "The Burden of Being Wrong Most of the Time":

Speaking of schools closing, the LCMS Concordia seminaries both stay open only thanks to a US federal regulation that allows a school to disburse student loans for however many credit hours they see fit to require for a degree. The Dept of Education could one day say they'll only fund up to the minimum necessary hours for an accredited masters degree, and then the student is on his own for financing the rest of his degree. The LCMS M. Div. students would then have to finance the second half of their degree by themselves, since only the first 72 out of the 137/139 credit hours would be covered. One can see that the seminaries would be in serious existential trouble due to finances and lack of students.

The whole system reeks though, and reminds me of the papacy. The papacy bases its existence on the peculiar interpretation of one verse (Mat 16:18), and the LCMS seminaries base their mutual existence on one govt regulation and that govt's loosey goosey accounting practices. Just as the Antichrist seems not to be concerned about Christ coming back to destroy him, so the seminaries seem unconcerned that the Tea Party may choke off their revenue stream. The profs there probably even voted for Tea Party candidates in the primaries and election:

loosey goosey
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=loosey%20goosey

Town mentioned in linked post:
Comfrey, MN (poplulation 367)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfrey,_Minnesota

***

GJ - On March 29, 1998, Comfrey was hit by a strong F4 tornado which damaged or destroyed most of the town.

I remember that, because I become incredibly sleepy when a tornado is near. I simply could not drive the car. I pulled over for a period of time. Soon after we heard on the radio that Comfrey was wiped out by a tornado.

That also happened much earlier near Kalamazoo, when I insisted on pulling over. That time a tornado was just ahead of us. It ravaged the very road we were going to use, so we drove down the street and looked at the damage. I was happy to point out that I saved our lives by being overwhelmed by sleep. When it happened the second time, near Comfrey, I became unbearable.

Romans 3:20-26 Is a Justification by Faith Passage

He would be great in the next MLC video.


LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "Read the Whole Passage, WELS":

I've had discussions with two WELS pastors concerning this text. It is always sidestepped. Here is an excerpt from one of my emails:

"Objective Justification speaks to a forgiveness of sins apart from faith, but the Bible does not speak this way. It always speaks a message of repentance and forgiveness through faith in Jesus who is our justifier and our righteousness. (Romans 10:4)

In fact those very verses (Romans 3:20-26) come from the section entitled ‘Justification by Faith’ in the NIV. Objective Justification turns or burns on verses 22-24. The Concordia Study Bible calls out a parenthetical thought starting at the end of verse 22 and continuing through verse 23. (see attached file for commentary for entire section) I understand that to mean: “22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe [There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God] 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” So the meaning actually says according to the study notes: “22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Because believers are sinners and fall short of the glory of God)."

The KJV's punctuation helps to set this off. The modern translations have butchered this text.



LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "Read the Whole Passage, WELS":

Oh and by the way...the next time your pastor talks about UOJ, ask him how it works with Abraham, since he lived with all the other BC Christians and the work of the atonement had not happened. You'll probably get the same answer I always get...or don't...

Joseph Schmidt on the Pipe Organ

Joseph Schmidt is providing pipe organ hymns, TLH, thanks to the magic of computers.

Programs I Use

• Cakewalk Music Creator 5
• Hauptwerk
• Noteworthy Composer

I added his new blog to the link list.

Read the Whole Passage, WELS

KJV Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through theforbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.


raklatt (http://raklatt.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Universalism in WELS":

One gets tired of WELS being right about Romans 3:23 and wrong about Romans 3:24.

Should they read one more verse, Romans 3:25, they would learn something about faith being important in the propitiation, and that it was Jesus who was declared righteous, not us.

That is so important that Paul repeats it in Romans 3:26.

How is it that the WELS sophists continually ignore what they are being told in Scriptures?

The news gives us sound-bites. The WELS gives us word-bites. Both are incomplete, misleading and often very, very wrong.

Read on. Study well.

Christian Universalism - Universal Reconciliation

I'm singing in the WELS
Just singing in the WELS
What a glorious feelin'
I'm running the ELS.
I'm laughing at clods
So dark up above
Paul Kelm’s in my heart
And I'm ready for love.
Let the Intrepids chase
We’ll quote them the Eighth
And bring on the pain.
I've a smile on my face,
I walk down the lane,
Cause we browbeat the ELS,
Just singin',
Singin' in the WELS.


Please look over this page on Christian Universalism - Universal Reconciliation, which was linked by Church Mouse on his excellent blog.

Today many people can see the reason why I advocate studying comp dog (comparative dogmatics), so we know what we believe in comparison with the confessions of other groups. I used to commune George Lindbeck at Yale University. He taught the comp dog class, but I was not able to fit his course into the schedule. Lindbeck was the official observer at Vatican II. Soon after Yale I spent most of my time on comp dog at Notre Dame, seven years in all. Nevertheless, I am always learning.

If you study the page on Christian Universalism you will recognize arguments used for Universal Objective Justification. They are not quite the same, but they are twigs on the same branch of Enthusiasm. Hoenecke's main teacher at Halle, Tholuck, was a Universalist.

My neighbor in Columbus was a Universalist minister. He invited me to do the complete service at his church. I did not want to be the visiting monkey, so I declined, even though I could have taken an organist along and controlled all the content. He hastened to point out how conservative the Universalist part of the UUA merger was. The Unitarians became extremely radical and controlled the UUA after that merger.

Recently I looked up Universalist hymnals on Google Books. The theology books seem to be all from the Harvard Library. Many of those hymns from the early days were exactly what we sing today, including the same words, not all manipulated like the Mormon or WELS hymnals.

And it all comes down to love. If you question this, you are not loving and you question God's love. Do you feel bad now? You should.

Christian Universalism is that warm feeling one gets just before becoming a confirmed, loud-mouthed, obnoxious atheist. Follow the UOJ Shrinkers and you find that trajectory in their lives.

---

LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "Church Mouse Update on Rob Bell - WELS VP Huebner'...":

Thanks for posting these...so much of it sounds eerily similar to what I have seen in print and taught by WELS 'theologians'. Here's a rhetorical question; What's the common denominator?

Orange Ice Water:Jackson Special.Summer Treat

Orange blossoms create a beautiful perfume wherever they grow.

All sugared sodas are little more than corn syrup plus water, flavor, and bubbles. Obese children can probably thank their parents for getting them used to lots of soda, which turns to instant fat and really spikes hunger pangs. Popcorn is similar, adding fat to the mix. The SORE and Victory may die off from COPD before false doctrine takes its toll, since both offer popcorn and soda for the so-called worship service. (Victory uses my credal statement, yet boasts another Glende.)

Diet soda is not an answer to sugared soda, since it loaded with questionable stuff to make it seem sweet. Many argue that artificial sweeteners are worse than corn syrup. I love the taste of diet A and W root beer, but I find it oddly un-refreshing, no matter how much I drink. Diet soda is not on my list.

Years ago, I drank enough Coca Cola to make withdrawal difficult. I began de-tox with orange juice, which was also another big slug of sugared water. Dieticians frown on orange juice.

I discovered that the best and most refreshing drink consisted of orange slices in iced water. I cut half an orange into little pieces, which can be eaten later. The orange bits add flavor and a slightly sweet taste to the water. Mrs. Ichabod and I both love this drink.

Lemons are good, but their staying power in water is not impressive. They get an odd taste after a few hours, unlike oranges. Limes have great flavor, but they are often rather dry and hard. Lemons and limes seem to shrink to pebbles in the fridge, at an alarming rate. I like lemons and limes in theory but not in practice.

At a restaurant, the waitress will bring lemon or lime ice water for free. Lemonade costs about $2. I said at the last gathering of Team Jackson, "I ordered de-sugared lemonade." To be frank, once sugared drinks are removed the diet, they seem odious and disgusting.

Church Mouse Update on Rob Bell - WELS VP Huebner's Fave Theologian

Rob Bell versus shocked Christians: When two Gods collide

March 25, 2011 in Calvinism, Evangelical, heresy, Protestant | Tags: Calvinism, Christian Universalism, emergent church, Evangelical, heresy, Love Wins, Protestant, Rob Bell

Rob Bell’s Love Wins has caused a furore not only among Christians around the world but those at his own church, Mars Hill Bible Church (MHBC) in Grandville, Michigan.  As people in the North of England say, ‘There’s trouble at t’mill’.
Pastor Ken Silva at Apprising Ministries received a grudging but grateful email from one of Bell’s congregants, excerpts of which follow.  First, Pastor Silva gives us a bit of background from March 11, 2011 (emphases mine throughout):

The other day in Latest On Firestorm Around Rob Bell I reminded you that numerous sources have now confirmed that there will be “a church meeting this Sun [night], March 13 in the evening to discuss the book.” It’s only for “covenant members only by invitation” and apparently people “must register and be approved to attend” this question and answer session. I’m being told “many” at Mars Hill Bible Church are seriously wondering if Rob Bell is a universalist. As I’ve said before, I actually don’t think he is; I offer that Bell’s already been leaning toward this Christian Universalism, which is also known as Universal Reconciliation/Redemption. For many of those who do believe this heresy—with its false gospel—there is a literal hell; but they dream, after each is punished temporally eventually hell will be empty.

Read the entire Church Mouse post here.

Party On - MLC

henry-hammer (http://henry-hammer.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "MLC Going For-Profit?:You Heard It Here First.Ba-z...":

The consequence of sin is death – even for religious colleges and institutions. When members fail to monitor their religious leaders and hold their feet to the fire, this is what happens.

Change and Change provides a vivid example of leaders run amuck. God and the Word must take a back sit to their insane thinking.

Speaking of Colleges - A Lutheran College with a Drag Show.Not MLC! ELCA's Wartburg College

My classmate Stan Olson is the new seminary president at Wartburg. 






Learn more about the Presidential Inauguration.
 

This is a show not to be missed!
Have you ever seen a guy do a back flip in stiletto heels? Now you will! Wartburg's annual cabaret/drag show has become a phenomenon in Northeast Iowa. About 700 people attended the performance in 2010. The show brings in professional drag queens and kings from around the state of Iowa and also features students, faculty, and staff performers. Admission is only $5 for community members and $2 for students. The proceeds go to the Wartburg Alliance organization to cover the cost of the production and some select charities, should there be more funds raised than needed for production costs..

All Wartburg students, faculty, and staff are invited to perform in the show
If you are interested in performing in the next cabaret/drag show, please e-mail alliance@wartburg.edu. If you are nervous about performing by yourself, feel free to get a group together. We encourage you to be creative. Add some choreography; choose some fun music that will get the crowd into it. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

We invite members of other colleges to perform in our show!
Starting in 2008, we began the tradition of allowing students and community members from other colleges in Iowa to perform in our cabaret/drag show. If you are interested in representing your school at this year's performance, please complete the following forms below. Please e-mail them to alliance@wartburg.edu. Let us know if you are in need of our help in arranging lodging if you plan to stay in Waverly that night.

• Drag Performer Registration Form (DOC)
• Performer Liability/Hold Harmless Agreement Form (DOC)
• Directions to Campus and Map

Last year's shindig:

ELCA College Holds Annual Drag Show 10/12/2010

2 Comments

 

Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa is an ELCA school. On March 20, 2010, they hosted Wartburg College's 5th Annual Drag Show. "The show brings in professional drag queens and kings from around the state of Iowa and also features students, faculty, and staff performers." (see here)

The Drag Show takes place on campus at Neumann Auditorium (see here) and is sponsored by Wartburg Alliance, which describes itself as ". . . a student-run organization that seeks to generate awareness about LGBT issues and advocate for more inclusive environments on campus, locally, and nationally." (see here)

A blogger in attendance during this year’s drag show said the star performer was Serena Michaels, otherwise known as Miss Gay Iowa 2010. (read here)

Here are links to pictures from the event -

-  Picture 1

-  Picture 2

-  Picture 3

-  Picture 4

-  Picture 5

-  Picture 6

An ELCA college hosting drag shows for their student body, as well as inviting the attendance of the local community, should not be a surprise. When the parent denomination is rewriting God’s Word and encouraging people to remain in sin, how can one expect the schools they run to uphold Christian values?

Wartburg College student programming - God’s money - your tithes, gifts and tuition at work.

***

GJ - Don't act shocked WELS.

Your MLC gay video is still playing on YouTube and Facebook.

People should ask themselves why they bother to pay Doctrinal Pussycats and the Synod President. The ELCA pastors and members left over this kind of rubbish, but WELS promotes it.

MLC Going For-Profit?:You Heard It Here First.Ba-zing.

I watch the online, for-profit university scene. I work for two of them and know one of their junior executives.

No one has given me this scenario. I have constructed it from what has happened to several other small colleges.

A degree is worthless unless it is accredited by one of the national associations. The University of Phoenix began with a struggle over its status. Sperling's dream succeeded so quickly in California that the professionals yanked its accreditation. Sperling picked up and went to Phoenix, where a different association prevailed and gave its blessing. The last I heard, UOP had 400,000 students.

That accreditation is worth $10 million in time and money. Failing colleges (even MLC!) have that status, in most cases. It allows for student loans and credibility in the job market. Online corporations buy the school for the accreditation, plus some decaying buildings and a musty library.

For-profit corporations look for failing, accredited colleges. They buy them, keep them going as a local campus, spend money on them, and branch out with online programs. They can do business in any state that allows them to operate. The libraries are online, too.

I would be shocked if no one has approached MLC for a sale. In my scenario, it would be a win for both sides. The school would be deployed elsewhere, as planned, with plenty of cash in the kitty. They would take the much-abused Sprinter statue along. The Luther statue would stay, since the school would be more Lutheran once the Fuller faculty departed.

The New Ulm campus would remain as a local college, with a possible name change, such as Marvin's Little College, but most of the students would be online. Online students would provide most of the cash flow. Many people like the idea of having a school with a real campus, even if they never visit it.

They might even keep the name of the college. That has happened with several denominational colleges, even though they cut their church ties. I can think of three church colleges where the name stayed the same. A fourth would have happened, but the state got angry with onlines and prevented the sale. The college (Dana - where our college band once visited) closed down.

The Burden of Being Wrong Most of the Time

grumpy has left a new comment on your post "Lookee Here - They ARE Selling the Love Shack":

Dr. Jackson,

Not even a small "zing" on this one is merited.

Headquarters is NOT a college, seminary, or prep. It does not remotely have the same emotional power of an educational institution.

If anything, the sale of HQ only STRENGTHENS the argument that the colleges/preps/seminary are SAFE, at least for the next 5 years.

Now, THAT deserves a BA-ZING-OOOO !!!

Grumps

***

GJ - You gave good reasons for the dissolution of the schools taking longer, Grumpy.

Here is the other side

:
1. Schools are money pits, demanding large sums for basic repairs and maintenance, a critical problem when enrollment declines.
   
2. The tuition bill has gone from reasonable to pricey, but the educational content has declined to substandard Babtist. Why not go to Wheaton for a quality Baptist education?
   
3. Three WELS/ELS colleges are within a day's drive, so the old monopoly or single-purpose school is gone. Long ago: guys only went to NWC. Teachers only went to MLC. Bethany was just a junior college for the ELS and the Preus family. WLC was not beefed up with Schwan indulgence money.
   
4. Gustavus Adolphus (ELCA) is not far from MLC. An ELS leader's daughter went to GA instead of MLC or Bethany - for music!
   
5. WELS has already made plans to divide up MLC, and I was not on that committee - just reporting the facts.
   
6. WELS has been trying to close Michigan Lutheran Seminary since 1992 or earlier. Gurgle and Wayne Mueller really turned up the heat to boil the frog.
   
7. Mequon is also targeted for possible liquidation.

Previous power plays have reduced school loyalties. WELS got rid of Mobridge long ago. They got rid of the New Ulm prep by "moving" it to Prairie, where it could not survive, wasting a ton of money. The locals created their own area high school to replace what was on the New Ulm campus, dividing loyalties and killing the market for Prairie. But Prairie had to have music building for .5 million to 1 million bucks - while discussing its sale as a prison.

The lying went into overdrive to get rid of Northwestern College in Watertown. The NWC alumni were not allowed to vote on it. School loyalty got a thrashing there. NWC moved to New Ulm, where the faculty got neutered and filled with estrogen. Instead of two tracks, as promised, MLC merged all training.

The convention vote was a lie, too, since it failed. The vote counting committee reversed the total and said it passed narrowly. Gurgle next insisted that the districts all ratify the lie because the contracts had already been signed! So the lemmings approved the lie. Gurgle also spent $30 million on this cost-saving merger, when he said it was only $8 million.

The money blown that I know about would be enough to start another synod. Oh wait, two synods have started during this time, rather than turn to the doctrinal orthodoxy (ha) of WELS.

Moving NWC to New Ulm meant leaving a good job market (Milwaukee area) for a horrible one (New Ulm/Comfrey).

Moving NWC also meant that the future pastors could watch the future male teachers go out and party while they stayed in to keep up with Greek and Hebrew. Teachers have much easier requirements.

School loyalty means a lot, serving to draw the big donations. Marvin Schwan is proof of that. He went to Bethany when it was a clapboard little junior college, barely able to furnish tp in their outdoor johns.

WELS knows how to kill that loyalty, wherever and whenever possible. MLS was once called The Plywood Palace for its shabbiness. As president, John Lawrenz expressed his willingness to end MLS as a prep, right in front of the convention.

Lawrenz said on the convention floor, when MLS was fighting for its life, "We are willing to accept whatever role the synod gives us."

So much for "We are the synod." No - they are the synod. The Church and Changers are the synod, so sit at the back of the bus and spit on those shoes when you shine them.

But now I will voice the opinions of two readers. Both think the primary problem of WELS is the educational system, starting with the parochial schools. They think the entire system should be dismantled. The system of hazing turns its graduates into brain-washed robots who will accept anything and tell any lie to cover for classmates.

Universalism in WELS

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Michelle Bachmann Is No Longer WELS":

Grumpy, I was looking up (W)ELS doctrinal statements on the role of women and ran across this on their Synod website which, lo and behold, declares Universal Justification and Salvation. (W)ELS laity need to get engaged before it's too late.

Why do most confessional Lutherans choose to limit leadership and authority roles in congregations to men?

We do believe and teach that men and women enjoy equal status and importance before God. Both men and women were created in the perfect holiness of the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Although that was lost in the fall into sin when as both men and women we became equally sinful before God (Romans 3:23), yet in Christ's life, death, and resurrection for us God has restored to us our position as his justified and holy children (Romans 3:24). As far as our status and importance before him as dearly loved children and heirs of heaven, whether we are female or male makes absolutely no difference (Galatians 3:26-29).
http://www.wels.net/about-wels/doctrinal-statements

***

GJ - The Wisconsin sect begins with Enthusiasm, divorcing the Holy Spirit from the Word, by embracing universal absolution.

Luther warned that foul errors would rush in when the Means of Grace are denied. WELS is a good example of that happening.

Thank you, Brett, for providing more evidence of WELS Universalism, not to mention Holy Mother Synod's creative dogma, which lacks any Biblical foundation.